Watch Out for the Dog!

Last updated on: September 15, 2019 at 2:20 pm by Dosho Port

Watch Out for the Dog! 2019-09-15T14:20:39-06:00 Dosho Port

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I stumbled on a Zen story a little while back that’s been tugging at me. I’m sure I’ve read it before but somehow it didn’t bite the first few dozen times through.

Then Steve Heine pointed to it in Like Cats and Dogs: Contesting the Mu Koan in Zen Buddhism (review by yours truly here) and it sunk it’s teeth into my behind.

One place the story shows up in classical literature is in the Blue Cliff commentary on Case 96, “Zhaozhou’s Three Turning Words” in the section for “A gold Buddha does not pass through a furnace.” And there’s occasional reference to “Zihu’s dog” in the comments to various koans.

It goes like this:

“Zihu set up a sign on his outside gate; on the sign were words saying,

‘Zihu has a dog: above, he takes people’s heads; in the middle, he takes people’s loins; below, he takes people’s legs. If you stop to talk to him, you’ll lose your body and life.’

“Whenever Zihu saw a newcomer, he would immediately shout and say, ‘Watch out for the dog!’

As soon as the monk turned his head, Zihu would immediately return to the abbot’s room.”

Those of you who’ve been at our Transforming Through Play Temple, know that the blog dog Bodhi is such a dog. We keep him locked up when we have company so he doesn’t take people’s heads, loins, or legs! So I can relate to this dog and this Zen teacher.

There’s not only a lot of dogs, cats, foxes, and oxen in these old Zen stories but a lot of dismemberment (or threat thereof) too, pointing to our divided lives in the midst of wholeness. Like Uncle John’s Band sings, “I live in a silver mine but I call it beggar’s tomb.”

Still, I smile every time I think of wily Zihu calling “Dog!” and ditching the practitioner who looks off. And I tense with the practitioner who does the normal self-protective thing and winds up like the guy on the deserted island – a person alone in the universe.

Now Zihu was a dharma brother of Zhaozhou – that old guy who also had a dog who either had or didn’t have buddha nature. They seem to share a family style of putting dogs front and center.

The koan for which the above story is context asks, “Why could Zihu’s dog not bite Zhaozhou?”

If you know the meaning of “a gold Buddha does not pass through a furnace” in the activity of a fully engaged life, you’ll also know “Why could Zihu’s dog not bite Zhaozhou?”

It might seem rather strange and obscure at first, so it is necessary to enter into the body of the koan to taste this one. There’s something very important here for our path of practicing enlightenment, but if you stop to talk about it, you’ll lose your body and life.

Oh, hey, watch out for the dog!

Uncategorized

dogs and zen

Soto Zen

Previous Post

February 1, 2014

Great Tides Zen: Coming to Portland, ME, Summer 2014

Next Post

February 20, 2014 Cybersanghas - Do They Work?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 December 2016 October 2016 June 2016 April 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John Paul James Peter